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European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20

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Invited Review

Application of planning models in the agri-food supply chain: A review

Omar Ahumada, J. Rene Villalobos *
Department of Industrial Engineering, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875906, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States

Received 24 May 2007; accepted 14 February 2008

Available online 21 February 2008

Abstract

The supply chain of agricultural products has received a great deal of attention lately due to issues related to public health. Something that
has become apparent is that in the near future the design and operation of agricultural supply chains will be subject to more stringent
regulations and closer monitoring, in particular those for products destined for human consumption (agri-foods). This implies that the
traditional supply chain practices may be subject to revision and change. One of the aspects that may be the subject of considerable scrutiny is
the planning activities performed along the supply chains of agricultural products. In this paper, we review the main contributions in the field
of production and distribution planning for agri-foods based on agricultural crops. We focus particularly on those models that have been
successfully implemented. The models are classified according to relevant features, such as the optimization approaches used, the type of
crops modeled and the scope of the plans, among many others. Through our analysis of the current state of the research, we diagnose some
of the future requirements for modeling the supply chain of agri-foods.
2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keyword: OR in agriculture

to use inventory as a buffer against demand and transpor-

1. Introduction
The supply chain practices of agricultural food products
are currently under public scrutiny. This is the result of sev-
eral factors, such as the national attention given to recent
cases of fresh produce contamination (van der Vorst,
2006), the changing attitudes of a more health conscious
and better informed consumer who wants to have precise
information about the farming, marketing, and distribu-
tion practices used to bring the agricultural products into
the shelves of the neighborhood supermarket. This scrutiny
will undoubtedly translate into additional regulations and
market driven standards that will affect the design and
operation of an already complex supply chain. This com-
plexity is particularly critical in the case of perishable
agricultural commodities where the traversal time of the
products through the supply chain and the opportunities
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 480 965 0437; fax: +1 480 965 8692.
E-mail address: rene.villalobos@asu.edu (J.R. Villalobos).
tation variability are severely limited. This complexity is
compounded when the supply chain encompasses two or
more countries. Thus, the opening of domestic markets
to international competition throughout the world will
undoubtedly result in shifting the focus from a single
echelon, such as the farmer, to the efficiency of the overall
supply chain. In order to meet these new challenges, it is
necessary to take a critical look at the current supply chain
practices to determine the best strategies to accommodate
the new global conditions. In particular, it is necessary to
investigate if there exist better ways to design and operate
a supply chain that is increasingly globally integrated. In
this paper we focus primarily on planning models used in
the different aspects of the supply chain of agricultural food
products obtained from crops, or agri-food products. This
review does not include the supply chains of other products
such as cattle, meats, and other agricultural products not
directly related to crops.
The term agri-food supply chains (ASC) has been coined
to describe the activities from production to distribution

0377-2217/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2008.02.014
2 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20
that bring agricultural or horticultural products (Aramyan
et al., 2006) from the farm to the table. ASC are formed by
the organizations responsible for production (farmers), dis-
tribution, processing, and marketing of agricultural prod-
ucts to the final consumers.
The supply chain of agri-foods, as any other supply
chain, is a network of organizations working together in
different processes and activities in order to bring products
and services to the market, with the purpose of satisfying
customers demands (Christopher, 2005). What differenti-
ates ASC from other supply chains is the importance
played by factors such as food quality and safety, and
weather related variability (Salin, 1998). Other relevant
characteristics of agri-foods include their limited shelf life,
their demand and price variability, which makes the under-
lying supply chain more complex and harder to manage
than other supply chains.
This paper gives an assessment of the state of the art in
the area of planning models for the different components of
agri-food supply chains. Fig. 1 presents the factors used to
dissect and organize this review. For instance, from the
perspective of storability of the products, we make the
distinction between those papers whose main focus is on
perishable products from those that focus mostly on non-
perishable products. From the perspective of the scope;
we divide the papers into strategic, tactical, and opera-
tional planning. From the perspective of modeling uncer-
tainty, we divide the papers into deterministic and
stochastic. In a second level of the classification, we make
a further categorization using the particularities of the
modeling approaches used. For instance, we divide the
deterministic models into those based on linear program-
ming, dynamic programming, etc. We also divide the
papers using stochastic modeling approaches into stochas-
tic programming and stochastic dynamic programming.
Scope
Strategic Tactical
Reviewed Models
LP DP SDP
Deterministic Stochastic
Modeling
Fig. 1. Supply chain literature and its relation with our review.
The papers not fitting exactly one of these categories
appear in more than one group or, for those papers not fit-
ting any of the categories; they are grouped in a special cat-
egory presented at the end of the classification.
1.1. Scope of the review
We are aware of at least three previous literature reviews
in areas related to the topic of planning models of agricul-
tural supply chains; the earliest was performed by Glen
(1987), and the latest by Lowe and Preckel (2004). Glen
performed an exhaustive search of the literature (previous
to the year of 1985) covering crop and livestock production
models. The review by Lowe and Preckel focused on the
main modeling approaches used in crop planning in the
context of agribusiness. Their review included some of
the relevant papers covered in Glen (1987), but also some
papers that were published after Glens review. Although
Lowe and Preckels review is not extensive, it highlights
some potential areas for future research in the area.
Another review that focused on the topic of location anal-
ysis applied to agriculture was compiled by Lucas and
Chhajed (2004). This review covers applications related
to location of warehouses and processing plants from the
year 1826 to the year 2000. In their paper, Lucas and
Chhajed recognized the complexity and challenges of stra-
tegic production-distribution models applied to the agri-
cultural industry, and the need to consider uncertainty in
the planning models. These authors also emphasize the
emerging use of these models by large corporations.
Our intention in this paper is to complement and expand
the previous works by identifying the works that either
were not covered or were published after these reviews.
Another objective is to frame the literature in the context
of supply chain planning. In this paper we take a similar
approach to that of Lowe and Preckels by focusing on
those papers aimed at the production and distribution of
crops. We also aim to perform an extensive search of those
papers that have been published from the year 1985, the
year of Glens review, to the present. As it was the case
in the previous reviews, we do not cover macroeconomic
Operational models designed to plan crop production for entire regions
or countries; instead we focus on those models targeted to
be used by a single user, which may be a farmer or a com-
pany. The underlying reason for this approach is to look at
the ASC planning problem from the perspective of the indi-
vidual farmers, or group of farmers, facing an increasingly
integrated and more complex production-distribution sys-
tem. Most of the models addressed in this review come
SP
from journals in the agricultural sciences, supply chain,
and operations research literature.
1.2. Plan for this research
The organization of this paper is as follows: we first
present (Section 2) some background about the importance
of agriculture and the fresh produce industry. Section 3
 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20
presents a brief description of the supply chain planning
framework. In Section 4 we present supply chain planning
models that have been developed for non-perishable agri-
food products. Section 5 presents those supply chain plan-
ning models used in perishable agri-foods. Sections 4 and 5,
in addition to identify and classify the planning models,
also present some salient examples of the models and the
planning approaches that have been used on specific prob-
lems. Those papers not fitting the classification scheme
used in Sections 4 and 5 are presented in Section 6. Finally in
Sections 7 and 8, we provide a summary of the review and
identify some existing gaps in the literature that we believe
should be addressed in the future.
2. Background
Contrary to common belief, the supply chain of agricul-
tural products continues to be important, in terms of con-
sumption and monetary value. For instance, Kinsey (2001)
estimates that in the year 2000, the food and agricultural
sector (not accounting its auxiliary services) made up over
9% of the US gross domestic product (GDP). He shows
that the contribution to the GDP of some agricultural sec-
tors is actually expanding. It has been reported that the US
agricultural market has maintained a steady growth in pro-
duction fueled by the internal demand. However, the main
future growth in demand for agricultural products is
expected to be generated by developing nations, which
are actively increasing their consumption of proteins,
fruits, and vegetables (Boehlje et al., 2003).
Fresh produce is one of the most dynamic sectors of the
industry (Huang and Sophia, 2004). For example, the US
market for fresh agri-foods represents nearly a quarter of
all US food expenditures, with annual consumption of over
a $100 billion in products related to fruits and vegetables
(Epperson and Estes, 1999). Statistics from the United
Sates Department of Agriculture (USDA, 2007) suggest
that the per-capita consumption of fresh vegetables has
been steadily increasing since the early 1980s, while the
per capita consumption of traditional crops such as wheat
and other grains have increased at a much slower pace and,
for the last few years, it has actually decreased. The largest
portion of the reported increases in consumption has been
attributed to population growth, but also to market
changes, such as the increasing public awareness of the
benefits of healthier diets and to the higher incomes among
the US population (McLaughlin et al., 1999). This
increased demand for fresh products and an expectation
of their year-around availability has in turn fueled the
expansion of the underlying supply chains to include over-
seas production units such as winter produce from Mexico,
Chile and other South American countries. The same trend
has been observed in Europe were the norm is to find that
the winter fresh produce sold in Northern Europe is pro-
duced in Spain, Turkey, North African countries, and
beyond. These changes in demand and distribution pat-
terns are expected to continue or even accelerate in the near
3
future, thus making it necessary to look for ways to
improve the current supply chain practices. In particular,
the improvements should consider the new challenges
imposed by the changing demand in agri-foods, and the
new realities of the industry, which involves a global mar-
ketplace and more strict food safety regulations.
The structure of global market for agri-foods and the
associated supply chains is not static. On the contrary, it is
currently undergoing a drastic transformation. For instance,
the profile of the typical player in the agri-food supply chain
is changing from family based, small-scale, independent
firms to one in which larger firms are more tightly aligned
across the production and distribution value chain (Boehlje,
1999). The sophistication needed to successfully compete in
these emerging supply chains makes it more likely that some
of the concepts of supply chain planning and coordination
that have been successfully applied in the manufacturing sec-
tor can be adapted to fit the agri-food supply chains. For
instance, the academic and practice-oriented literature
related to improvements of non-agricultural supply chains
is ample (see for instance Vidal and Goetschalckx, 1997; Sar-
miento and Nagi, 1999; Min and Zhou, 2002; Meixell and
Gargeya, 2005). But implementing supply chain practices
that have been effective in other fields, to the ASC is not easy,
since the supply chain of agri-foods is characterized by very
long lead times, as well as significant supply and demand
uncertainties (Lowe and Preckel, 2004). These issues are
even more complex for fresh products, where producers also
face additional marketing uncertainties and a shorter life of
the product. Thus, in order to adequately plan the opera-
tions in the supply chain of fresh products; it is necessary
to formulate specific planning models that incorporate issues
such as harvesting policies, marketing channels, logistics
activities, vertical coordination, and risk management
(Epperson and Estes, 1999).
An additional reason for the lack of planning models for
the ASC has been the fragmented nature of the industry, in
which advanced planning systems have not been easily
adapted, implemented and maintained (McCarl and Nut-
hall, 1982). Lately, however, the new level of consolidation
being observed in the fresh produce industry has resulted in
more logistical activities performed directly by the produc-
ers, such as packaging, distribution, and final delivery of
the products to the customers (Kader, 2001). These recent
developments have increased the need for more sophisti-
cated planning strategies and tools in this industry.
The present review aims at determining current state of
the art in models and strategies for planning the ASC, and
at the identification of the research gaps as a first step to
the development of the solutions needed by the agricultural
logistics industry.
3. Supply chains, supply chain planning and modeling
approaches
We have identified two main types of ASCs, the first one
is the supply chain of fresh agri-foods, and the second one
4 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20
is the supply chain for non-perishable agri-foods. Fresh
products include highly perishable crops such as fresh
fruits and vegetables whose useful life can be measured in
days, non-perishable products are those that can be stored
for longer periods of time such as grains, potatoes, and
nuts. In the present review fresh products are of particular
interest due to their added logistical complexity, their lim-
ited shelf life, and the renewed interest of the general public
on the safety of these products.
3.1. Scope of decision-making in supply chain planning
Planning in supply chain of agri-foods usually involves
several levels of hierarchical decisions. These decisions
can be classified as strategic, tactical or operational,
depending on their effects to the overall supply chain (Sim-
chi-Levi, 2003; Chopra and Meindl, 2003). In the present
research we review those supply chain planning models
focused on strategic, tactical, and operational decision for
the agri-food supply chain. We place special attention to
those models dealing with coordination of tactical deci-
sions such as production and distribution.
3.2. Decisions in supply chain planning
Planning is an activity that supports decision-making by
identifying potential alternatives and making the best deci-
sions according to the objectives of planners (Fleischmann
et al., 2005). Supply chain planning (SCP) is comprised, at
the highest level, of three main decision-making functional
processes: production planning, inventory control and
physical distribution (Beamon, 1998). Fleischmann et al.
(2005) divides the supply chain activities into four func-
tional areas: procurement, production, distribution and
sales. These functional areas play an important part in
the architecture of advanced planning systems for commer-
cial packages (Stadler, 2005). Although these tasks have
traditionally been modeled independently, there is a con-
sensus in the supply chain literature that two or more of
these processes should be modeled together for improving
the overall supply chain performance (Chandra and Fisher,
1994).
In the context of the ASC, we have identified four main
functional areas: production, harvest, storage, and distri-
bution. Decisions made in production include those related
to cropping, such as the land to allocate to each crop, tim-
ing of sowing, and the determination of resources required
for growing the crops. During harvest, some of the deci-
sions that need to be made include the timing for collecting
the crops from the fields and the determination of the level
of resources needed to perform this activity. Some other
decisions made at harvest include the scheduling of equip-
ment, labor, and transportation equipment. Sometimes
these decisions also involve the scheduling of the packing
or processing plant. The third function is storage, which
includes the inventory control of the agri-foods, which is
required when the products need to be stored before or
during their distribution. Some storage-related decisions
also include the amount to store and sell in each planning
period and how to position the inventory along the supply
chain. Finally, the distribution function involves moving
the product down the supply chain to deliver it to the con-
sumers. The decisions associated with distribution include
selecting the transportation mode, the routes to use and
the shipping schedule to deliver the product.
3.3. Modeling approaches in SCP
From a modeling perspective, the models for supply
chain planning can be classified as deterministic or stochas-
tic, according to the certainty of the value of the parame-
ters used (Min and Zhou, 2002). We further refine this
classification according to the main mathematical tech-
niques used for finding solutions to these models. In those
cases where all of the models parameters are assumed
deterministic, the researchers have traditionally used
approaches such as linear programming (LP), dynamic
programming (DP), mixed integer programming (MIP),
and goal programming (GP). Otherwise, stochastic model-
ing approaches are used, these include stochastic program-
ming (SP), stochastic dynamic programming (SDP),
simulation (SIM), risk programming (RP).
We are aware of alternative modeling approaches for
modeling agri-food related activities, which we do not
cover in the present review. In general these approaches
are not as commonly used for applications in the ASC,
but there are applications in related areas of agricultural
research in which these modeling approaches are useful.
One example is the use of multi-objective and multi-criteria
decision-making models, which have been applied to sub-
sistence farms and agricultural policy planning. The inter-
ested reader in multi-criteria decision-making is referred
to the work of Hayashi (2000), who presents a comprehen-
sive list of articles on the topic of multi-criteria agricultural
decision making. Another example is the use of models to
predict plant growth and the timing of their maturity,
which have been applied to estimate production yield as
a function of time. For a detailed description of these mod-
els the reader is advised to consult the reviews by Marcelis
et al. (1998) and van Ittersum et al. (2003).
4. Planning models for ASC of non-perishable products
In this section we present those works dealing with mod-
els for the planning of activities in the supply chain of non-
perishable agri-foods. The complete list of the research
papers covered is presented in Table 1. This table presents
the leading authors and the publication year of the paper.
The second column gives a brief description of the papers
and their main objective(s). In the remainder of this section
we classify these papers according to their planning scope,
the functional nature of the decisions being modeled and the
modeling approaches used. In order to better illustrate
the different classifications we briefly describe one or more

Table 1
List of models non-perishable agricultural products
Model
Torkamani (2005)
Kobzar et al. (2005)
Apaiah and Hendrix
(2005)
Jiao et al. (2005)
Biswas and Pal (2005)
Visagie et al. (2004)
Jones et al. (2003)
Recio et al. (2003)
Vitoriano et al. (2003)
Higgins (2002)
Maatman et al. (2002)
Gigler et al. (2002)
Glen and Tipper (2001)
Lien and Hardaker (2001)
Ekman (2000)
Schilizzi and Kingwell
(1999)
Raju and Kumar (1999)
Higgins et al. (1998)
Abdulkadri and Ajibefun
(1998)
Sumanatra and Ramirez
(1997)
Lazzari and Mazzetto
(1996)
Torkamani and Hardaker
(1996)
Burton et al. (1996)
Nevo et al. (1994)
Duffy and Taylor (1993)
Kaiser et al. (1993)
Dobbins et al. (1992)
Adesina and Sanders
(1991)
Nanseki and Morooka
(1991)
Alocilja and Ritchie (1990)
Turvey and Baker (1990)
Bin Deris and Ohta (1990)
Perry et al. (1989)
O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20 5
Main objective of the paper
Evaluate prospective technology options using SP with the aim of maximizing the farmers utility (exponential utility
maximizing objective)
Develop a RP model for capturing joint stochastic distributions (parametric and non-parametric) using a mean-variance
objective function
Design a supply chain network for growing, harvesting, transporting and processing of a pea-based product using a MIP that
minimizes total cost
Develop a harvest schedule for a sugar cane farms using a LP model that maximizes the sugar content in the crops for a
harvest season
Plan seasonal crops within a year, using a fuzzy program with the objective of increasing utilization of land, labor,
production and profits
Determine farm planning strategies (crop and livestock) with a MIP that maximize the profit earned, given the level of risk
selected
Design a plan for planting decisions for a two period SP problem for a corn seed producer with variable yield with the
objective of reducing cost
Develop a farm plan that includes scheduling field tasks and analyzing investments with the objective of minimizing costs
using a MIP model
Prepare a plan for cropping tasks with a LP, satisfying precedence and time window constraints with the objective of
minimizing costs
Schedule the roster for harvest of a sugar cane region using MIP with the objective of reducing costs in transportation and in
the processing plant
Develop a SP model for planning production and consumption of a farmer for a given rainfall, with the objective of
minimizing shortages
Design a DP model for planning the decisions of multi-echelons agri-chains, to satisfy demand at the minimum total chain
cost
Plan the introduction of improved cultivation systems using a MIP model for semi-subsistence farmers with the purpose of
increasing discounted return
Analyze the farmers response to different type of subsidies in whole-farm, and their attitude towards risk through a SP with
utility maximizing objective
Determine the best combination of equipment and crop mix with the objective of maximizing revenue using a SP model
Estimate the impact of price and yield uncertainty on the introduction of crops using SP, with the objective of maximizing
expected utility of a farmer
Plan irrigation and production tasks with a LP model to find the best compromise between net benefits, agricultural
production and labor employed
Schedule harvesting and replanting operations with a LP model, considering available processing capacity with the objective
of maximize net revenue
Generate crop plan alternatives that are close to the optimal decisions for farmers with different objectives and using a LP
model
Develop a plan for multi-crop water allocation and intra-seasonal stochastic irrigation scheduling using DP and SDP models
to maximize revenues
Develop of a model for selecting and scheduling the machinery for a multicrop farm using search techniques for minimizing
the cost
Design a utility efficient non-linear SP model used for analyzing the economic efficiency of farmers with several utility
maximizing functions
Determine the production policy of double cropping and crop rotations with a MOTAD objective (maximizing revenue and
minimizing low returns)
Design a crop plan with an expert systems and a LP model with the objective of maximizing profits
Analyze long-term farm planning decisions under provisions of 1990 farm bill using a SDP model with the objective of
maximizing expected present value
Determine the potential impact of climate change using a SP model that maximizes revenue under different simulated
scenarios
Develop a LP model for planning the production, harvest, storage and marketing of crops and livestock, with the objective of
maximizing revenue
Design a SP model applied to a sequential decision-making under weather uncertainty for selecting cereal technologies that
maximize profits
Evaluate economic performance of farmers using a SP model with 3 risk preferences (max utility, max probability and
chance constraint)
Develop a simulation tool for maximizing profit and minimizing yield risk, by planning sowing date, fertilizer treatment and
plant population
Determine the relation of farm programs to the farmers hedging decisions with futures and options. By using SP with utility
maximizing objective
Develop a production system that minimizes machine demand in a two-stage cost minimizing application using LP and DP
Design a multi-period MIP model to identify the participation in government programs and crop mix with the objective of
maximizing net present value
(continued on next page)
6 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20

Table 1 (continued)
Model Main objective of the paper
Clarke (1989) Determine the cropping pattern that maximizes the return from the farm, applied to a farm in Bangladesh using a LP model
Kaiser and Apland Determine production and marketing plans for two crops using a SP model with the objective of maximizing profit and reduce
(1989) profit deviation
Lambert and McCarl Develop a discrete SP for selecting among marketing alternatives with the objective of maximizing revenues
(1989)
Turvey et al. (1988) Design a RP model for providing useful alternatives to the variance-covariance quadratic programming method
Tan and Fong (1988) Determine cropping decisions for a perennial crops, with the objective of maximizing revenue with MOTAD and using a LP
model
Glen (1986) Design a plan for an integrated crop and beef production with internal production of feed stuff, using a LP model for
maximizing revenue
El-Nazer and McCarl Develop a LP model to design and determine the optimal long-run rotation of crops with the objective of maximizing revenue
(1986) with risk aversion
Butterworth (1985) Develop a MIP model for whole farm plan with crop, livestock and labor decisions with the objective of maximizing revenues
Stoecker et al. (1985) Design of an application of LP and DP models for determining production, irrigation, drilling and water distribution decisions
for maximizing revenues

deal with farming decisions. The papers reviewed cover a

representative papers for each classification. In selecting
these papers we favored those that were motivated by a
concrete need and offered evidence of a successful
implementation.
4.1. Planning scope for ASC of non-perishable products
Table 2 presents the papers for non-perishable agri-
foods organized according to the planning scope being
addressed. The papers are classified as strategic (S), tactical
(T) or operational (O). The fourth column of Table 2
shows whether the papers provide evidence that the
described models were implemented and used (Y/Y); just
applied to a case study, but not to a specific real life situa-
tion(Y/N); or not applied at all (N). As it can be observed
in the table, the reported models that have been success-
fully applied to the planning the ASC are a minority. This
same pattern has been reported in other reviews of agricul-
tural models (Higgins et al., 2007). For this reason we high-
light in our review those models that have been successfully
applied to the planning of different aspects of the ASC.
The next column of Table 2 identifies the targeted user
of the model. We identify this user as the decision maker
(DM). The decision maker can be a farmer, external advi-
sor, planner, or a centralized decision maker in the supply
chain (SC). We define the planner as a decision maker that
is in charge of a large operation, such as large farmers,
cooperatives or corporations. Usually this type of planner
requires more sophisticated tools and strategies than a
small of medium size farmer. The reason for the inclusion
of this additional classification dimension is to provide an
assessment of the level of technical sophistication required
for the application of the planning models, which increases
from the farmer, at the lowest level, to the centralized deci-
sion maker, at the highest level of the classification.
4.1.1. Models for strategic planning in ASC of non-
perishable products
In this section we discuss in more detail strategic models
aimed at the ASC with a particular emphasis on those that
wide range of strategic decisions such as equipment selec-
tion, selection of farming technology, financial planning,
design of supply networks, reservoir management, evalua-
tion of perennial crops, and crop rotation strategies. In
terms of their objective functions, these models include
profit and revenue maximization, utility maximization,
net present value, and cost minimization. In the remainder
of this section we discuss some representative examples of
these papers.
From the list of articles in Table 2, there are only a few
models aimed at purely strategic decisions. For instance,
Ekman (2000) presents an example of strategic planning
applied to technology selection. The paper describes an SP
model for selecting the best mix of equipment and tillage
schedule for an individual farm with the purpose of
maximizing revenue. The model uses discrete probability
distributions to represent the available working days. The
distributions are used to determine the optimal amount of
equipment required to meet tillage schedule. The results pre-
sented indicate that deterministic models underestimate the
capacity requirements for unfavorable-weather years. The
main contribution of this work is the selection of machinery
investment with uncertain constraints (time available for
tillage) given by the stochastic nature of the weather.
Tan and Fong (1988) present an LP model to select the
best crop mix for a perennial crop plantation. The objective
is to maximize the revenue and to consider risky outcomes
by penalizing negative returns, also known as mean abso-
lute deviation (MOTAD). One of the main considerations
in evaluating perennial crops is the determination of the
multiple periods in which the model has to be evaluated,
and the corresponding uncertainty in the prices of the
crops. The researchers use the net present value of the
mean absolute deviation to evaluate the alternative crops.
An efficient frontier is developed with the different poten-
tial plans from which the decision makers can select
according to their level of risk. The main contribution of
this paper is the development of a methodology for making
long term decisions under uncertainty.
 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20 7

Table 2
Planning scope and decision variables for non-perishable agricultural products
Model Planning scope Decision variables
S T O A DM P H D I SCM Other decisions considered
Torkamani (2005) X X Y/N Advisor X 1 Labor and financial
Kobzar et al. (2005) X Y/N Planner X 1 Risk reduction
Apaiah and Hendrix (2005) X X N SC X X X 3 Production at plant
Jiao et al. (2005) X Y/Y Planner X 1
Biswas and Pal (2005) X Y/N Advisor X 1
Visagie et al. (2004) X X Y/N Farmer X 1 Livestock planning
Jones et al. (2003) X Y/Y Planner X 1
Recio et al. (2003) X X Y/Y Advisor X 1 Scheduling of activities
Vitoriano et al. (2003) X X N Planner X 1 Modeling approach
Higgins (2002) X Y/Y Planner X 1 Reduce variability at plant
Maatman et al. (2002) X Y/Y Advisor X X 1 Consumption and purchase
Gigler et al. (2002) X N SC X X X X 3
Glen and Tipper (2001) X X Y/N Advisor X 1 Selection fallow system
Lien and Hardaker (2001) X N Planner X 1 Subsidies, labor
Ekman (2000) X Y/N Farmer X 1 Equipment investment and tilling schedule
Schilizzi and Kingwell (1999) X Y/N Advisor X 1 Crop rotations
Raju and Kumar (1999) X Y/N Advisor X 1 Planning of irrigation, labor
Higgins et al. (1998) X X Y/N Planner X 1 Replanting decisions
Abdulkadri and Ajibefun (1998) X Y/N Farmer X 1 Generate alternative plans
Sumanatra and Ramirez (1997) X X Y/N Advisor X 1 Irrigation scheduling
Lazzari and Mazzetto (1996) X Y/N Advisor 1 Equipment sizing/scheduling
Torkamani and Hardaker (1996) X Y/N Planner X 1 Utility functions
Burton et al. (1996) X X N Advisor X 1 Crop rotations and labor
Nevo et al. (1994) X N Farmer X 1
Duffy and Taylor (1993) X X N Planner X 1 Participation on program
Kaiser et al. (1993) X X N Farmer X X 1 Tilling schedule
Dobbins et al. (1992) X X Y/Y Advisor X X 1 Activities schedule
Adesina and Sanders (1991) X Y/N Advisor X 1 Purchasing and consumption
Nanseki and Morooka (1991) X Y/N Planner X 1 Labor requirements
Alocilja and Ritchie (1990) X Y/N Advisor X 1 Sowing date and fertilizer use
Turvey and Baker (1990) X X Y/N Planner X 1 Financial and hedging
Bin Deris and Ohta (1990) X Y/N Advisor X 1 Scheduling of machines
Perry et al. (1989) X X Y/N Farmer X 1 Program participation
Clarke (1989) X N Advisor X 1 Crop selection and rotation
Kaiser and Apland (1989) X Y/N Farmer X X X 1 Tillage and marketing
Lambert and McCarl (1989) X Y/N Advisor X X 1 Utility function
Turvey et al. (1988) X Y/N Advisor X 1
Tan and Fong (1988) X Y/N Planner X 1 Assign crops to soil type
Glen (1986) X Y/N Advisor X X 1 Livestock decisions
El-Nazer and McCarl (1986) X Y/N Advisor X 1 Design of crop rotations
Butterworth (1985) X Y/N Advisor X 1 Livestock an labor
Stoecker et al. (1985) X X Y/N Farmer X 1 Irrigation and aquifer
S: strategic, P: production variables/decisions, T: tactical, H: harvesting variables/decisions, O: operational, D: distribution variables/decisions, A:
application of the models, I: inventory variables/decisions, DM: decision maker for which the model is designed, SCM: echelons of the supply chain.

the optimal discrete capital expenditure patterns for both

We close this discussion about strategic modeling by
describing a paper for modeling the economic benefits of
irrigation development over a depleting aquifer (Stoecker
et al., 1985). The problem is formulated as an LP problem
that makes short term crop mix decisions (one year plan),
which is combined with a DP approach that defines the
long-term cropping plans by carrying over the effects of
the yearly decisions. The main objective of the model is
to maximize the net present value of multi-period revenue.
The decision variables in the model include system vari-
ables such as crop production, drilling policy, area devel-
oped for irrigation, and water allocation. The main
contribution of the model is to simultaneously determine
single period and multi-period groundwater utilization.
4.1.2. Models for tactical planning in ASC of non-perishable
products
Tactical models for non-perishable agri-foods handle
short to medium term decisions in farm planning, such as
cropping plans, harvesting, and planting policies. Accord-
ingly, the papers presented in Table 2 deal with crop
allocation, drilling policy, participation on government
programs, water allocation, scheduling of tillage, labor
requirements, harvesting, marketing, financial, and post-
harvesting decisions. The objective functions of these
8 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20
models include traditional one-dimensional objective func-
tions such as profit maximization, cost minimization, and
production maximization. Sometimes the models also include
alternative objectives such as risk reduction while increas-
ing profit, investment hedging, and multi-objective criteria.
Examples of papers dealing with tactical models that have
been successfully implemented are presented next.
Jiao et al. (2005) present a harvest-scheduling model for a
region in Australia with multiple independent sugar cane
fields. The paper presents an LP model for determining the
amount of crops to harvest along the season with the objec-
tive of increasing the amount of sugar obtained. The model
also restricts the harvest decisions to assure fairness to the
farmers in the region. The main contribution of the paper is
the development of a statistical analysis that predicts sugar
content and the integration of the statistical analysis to the
optimization model. This model has been converted into a
software tool, which is currently used by more than 20
growers in several regions of Australia.
A second example of a tactical model is given by the
work of Maatman et al., 2002. This model helps a subsis-
tence farmer to determine strategies for the production,
consumption, selling, storing, and purchasing of crops.
The problem is modeled as a two-stage SP, where the
first-stage decisions involve what and how much to pro-
duce given that a certain amount of rain is observed. In
the second-stage decisions (post-harvest), the farmer deci-
des the consumption, storage, selling, and purchasing of
the crop. The main objective of this model is the minimiza-
tion of food shortages for the farmer and his family. The
researchers claim that their approach is simple to apply;
given the limited number of options and scenarios available
to the farmers. They also report that the use of this model
has influenced agricultural policies in Burkina Faso and
allowed to test alternative production methods adapted
to the characteristics of the farmers.
4.1.3. Models for operational planning in ASC of non-
perishable products
Regarding the models related to operational planning
(Table 2), we can observe that there are fewer papers in
the area of operational planning than in the area of tactical
planning. This difference may reflect the importance of tac-
tical over operational planning for non-perishable prod-
ucts. Most of the operational models presented are
concerned with determining harvesting plans, equipment
scheduling, water allocation, and land preparation.
The work of Recio et al. (2003) is an example of the
models that include tactical and operational decisions. This
work embeds a mixed integer program (MIP) into a deci-
sion support systems (DSS) that provides detailed plans
for farmers activities such as crop selection, scheduling
of field tasks, investment analysis, machinery selection
and other aspects of the production process. The objective
of the model is the minimization of the costs incurred by
farmers during the cropping season. The model has been
successfully used as part of extension services in Spain to
provide recommendations about crops profitability.
The second example is a model that deals exclusively
with operational decisions (Higgins, 2002). In this work,
models are developed to deal with operational decisions
for scheduling harvesting operations. The main objective
of this work is to minimize the costs incurred while meet-
ing market demand constraints. The planning problem
presents two main issues, how to efficiently harvest the
product, and how to reduce the operational costs at a pro-
cessing plant. Other byproducts of the model include
obtaining a more reliable transportation, a constant daily
supply of crops; reducing capital expenditures and reduc-
ing the cost of scheduling mechanical harvesters. The
author indicates that the successful application of this
model resulted in significant cost savings for the sugar cane
industry of Australia.
4.2. Planning decisions for ASC of non-perishable products
The second part of Table 2 presents the classification of
papers for non-perishable agri-foods according to the
activity of the supply chain they target. The main activities
in ASC involve the planting (P), harvesting (H), storing (I),
and distributing (D) crops to the customers downstream in
the supply chain. This table also presents the field SCM,
which provides information about how many echelons of
the supply chain are considered in the models. For exam-
ple, if only the decisions of the farmer are considered, it
is said that only one echelon is covered by the model. How-
ever, if decisions affecting the farmer and distributor are
considered, then two supply chain echelons are being mod-
eled. The last column of Table 2 presents succinct informa-
tion on additional planning decisions addressed by the
models. Examples of such decisions include financial and
purchasing considerations, capacity planning, crop rota-
tion, irrigation, and fertilizer use. In the following sections
we discuss in more detail some of these models, particularly
those that are used for planning the production and distri-
bution of crops.
4.2.1. Production models of non-perishable products
From the list of models presented in Table 2, we can
observe that production (P) related decisions are the most
common of the models presented. Usually production deci-
sions are related to the timing and the amount to plant of
each crop, as well as to the rotation of the crops along sev-
eral time periods. Most of these models are designed to
plan the production from the perspective of a single partic-
ipant of the supply chain, such as determining the produc-
tion of a single farm.
One example of production models is the work pre-
sented by Dobbins et al. (1992). These authors evaluate
crop production alternatives using an LP model. The LP
model includes planting, harvesting, processing, and the
storage of crops. The objective is to maximize revenues
by preparing an optimal cropping plan for the year. The
 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20
resources considered in the model include land, labor,
machinery, and other constraints, such as processing,
storage, and institutional constraints. At the time that the
paper was written, the model had been successfully used
for approximately 25 years, which included periodic main-
tenance and additions to keep up with the needs of the
farmers.
A second example of production related models is given
by the work of Schilizzi and Kingwell (1999). These
authors investigate the impact of price and yield uncer-
tainty in cropping decisions for a farm in Western Austra-
lia. The objective is to maximize the expected utility
function of the farmers. The SP model includes decision
variables such as crop rotation, crop selection, and land
allocation. These decisions take into consideration con-
straints related to the soil type, crop rotation, available
crops, expected yield, the farmers risk attitudes and the
weather patterns. Of particular importance is the effect of
the weather on production, which is modeled through a
set of discrete weather conditions with a corresponding
probability of occurrence. The models presented include
the use of farmers specific utility functions and the model-
ing of weather uncertainty.
4.2.2. Production-distribution models of non-perishable
products
Different functions in the ASC have been traditionally
modeled independently. This is mostly due to the added
complexity of developing and finding solutions for inte-
grated multi-echelon models (Thomas and Griffin, 1996).
This is particularly true when the echelons being modeled
include those for production and distribution activities.
Integrated models, although challenging to develop and
solve, offer potential cost saving benefits. For instance,
Chandra and Fisher (1994) report savings of up to 20%
when integrated decision models are used. In agriculture,
judging at the relative few applications that consider pro-
duction and distribution decisions in the same model, this
integration has also been difficult to achieve. However,
while we did not find evidence that any of the models
had been implemented in a real operation; the integrated
models found in the literature document the potential high
benefits of using such models in the planning of ASC.
An example of an integrated model is given by the work
of Apaiah and Hendrix (2005). These authors designed a
network model for growing, harvesting, transporting and
processing a pea-based product. The supply chain modeled
is divided into three phases: production (growing and har-
vesting), ingredient preparation (milling and concentra-
tion) and product processing. These phases are connected
by transportation links using different transportation
modes. The objective is to minimize the overall costs of
the supply chain, which is composed of all the production
and transportation activities required to obtain the final
product. The problem is modeled using an LP formulation
that when solved gives the amount of peas to produce at
each growing location, the amount of peas to transport
9
from the growing areas to the plants, the amount of pea
concentrate to process at the plant, the quantity of concen-
trate to transport to the product processing facilities, and
the products to process at each facility. One of the benefits of
the model is that it provides an estimate of the costs
involved in the operation of a new product line.
4.3. Modeling approaches in ASC of non-perishable products
The modeling approaches used in agricultural planning
are presented in Table 3. These include stochastic program-
ming (SP), linear programming (LP), dynamic program-
ming (DP), stochastic dynamic programming (SDP), and
mixed integer programming (MIP). According to the
results reported in the literature, some of the approaches
have been applied more successfully to the planning of
ASC than others. For instance, the papers based on Zhou
(Dobbins et al., 1992; Higgins, 2002) and SP models (Jones
et al., 2003) have a good record of rendering successful
applications.
The most popular modeling approach in agricultural
planning has been LP. The extended use of LP models
for planning agricultural activities is surprising given the
high level of uncertainty present in the estimation of the
parameters of the models such as yield, profit, etc. How-
ever, the popularity of LP can be explained by the simplic-
ity of use and the flexibility of LP models to capture a large
variety of decisions, such as crop scheduling, resource
assignment, selection of production methods, and invest-
ment decisions (Hazell and Norton, 1986).
An example of LP modeling is provided by Vitoriano
et al. (2003). This model is used to plan farm resources
and to schedule the different activities required for growing
the crops. The overall objective of the model is to minimize
total costs. The model considers time windows, precedence
and resource constraints to restrict the scheduling of pro-
duction activities in the farm. The paper considers two
modeling approaches, one that partitions time into discrete
units, and a second one that uses a continuous time hori-
zon. The former is preferred for short term planning hori-
zons, while the latter is used for long planning horizons
with loose time windows. For a more general perspective
on the developments of LP modeling in agricultural plan-
ning the reader is referred to Hazell and Norton (1986)
and Dent et al. (1986).
Some authors have modified traditional LP models to
account for the uncertainty present in most farming activ-
ities. The effects of uncertainty are particularly important if
farmers are risk averse, which it has been traditionally
assumed in the economics literature (Hardaker et al.,
1991). The modeling of uncertainty and risk attitudes in
the objective function has been called risk programming.
The formulation of objective functions includes the
mean-variance (E-V), minimization of the total absolute
deviations (MOTAD), utility maximization and other for-
mulations. We are aware of at least two previous reviews
related with RP, the first one, by Hardaker et al. (1991),
10 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20

Table 3
Modeling approaches used for planning non-perishable agricultural products
Model LP SP DP SDP MIP Other aspects
Torkamani (2005) X Nonlinear SP
Kobzar et al. (2005) X Risk programming
Apaiah and Hendrix (2005) X
Jiao et al. (2005) X Regression analysis
Biswas and Pal (2005) Fuzzy goal programming
Visagie et al. (2004) X Risk programming
Jones et al. (2003) X
Recio et al. (2003) X Decision support systems
Vitoriano et al. (2003) X X
Higgins (2002) X Tabu search
Maatman et al. (2002) X
Gigler et al. (2002) X
Glen and Tipper (2001) X X
Lien and Hardaker (2001) X Time series
Ekman (2000) X
Schilizzi and Kingwell (1999) X
Raju and Kumar (1999) X MCDM and constraint prog.
Higgins et al. (1998) X
Abdulkadri and Ajibefun (1998) X Modeling to generate alternatives
Sumanatra and Ramirez (1997) X X
Lazzari and Mazzetto (1996) Search methods
Torkamani and Hardaker (1996) X
Burton et al. (1996) X
Nevo et al. (1994) X Expert systems
Duffy and Taylor (1993) X Time series
Kaiser et al. (1993) X Simulation and time series
Dobbins et al. (1992) X
Adesina and Sanders (1991) X
Nanseki and Morooka (1991) X
Alocilja and Ritchie (1990) Simulation
Turvey and Baker (1990) X Utility functions
Bin Deris and Ohta (1990) X X
Perry et al. (1989) X
Clarke (1989) X
Kaiser and Apland (1989) X Time series and regression
Lambert and McCarl (1989) X Time series and regression
Turvey et al. (1988) X Risk programming
Tan and Fong (1988) X Multiple objectives and MOTAD
Glen (1986) X X
El-Nazer and McCarl (1986) X MOTAD
Butterworth (1985) X
Stoecker et al. (1985) X X

production in the second period harvested in winter (South

presents a list of programming models for farm planning
under uncertainty, with particular focus on RP models.
The second, by Backus et al. (1997), reviews several aspects of
farm decision-making under risk, including utility func-
tions, risk preferences and modeling approaches that have
been applied in RP problems.
The quest for more realistic modeling alternatives has
popularized the use of stochastic programming. Examples
of the use of stochastic programming in agricultural plan-
ning include the models developed by Jones et al. (2001,
2003). The authors model the production of crops to
obtain seeds for a seed-corn company, with two sequential
production periods under random yields and uncertain
demand. The decision variables include the amount of
crops to be produced in a first period planted in spring
and harvested in late summer (North America), and the
America) to satisfy an uncertain annual seed demand of the
spring of the following year. The objective of the problem
is to maximize the expected gross margin given the costs of
production incurred and expected yields at the two-stages.
The authors report that the use of the SP model and the
application of the proposed planning methodology resulted
in increasing the profit margins of the company by 24%.
Also popular in the agricultural planning literature is the
use of DP (Stoecker et al., 1985) and SDP (Sumanatra and
Ramirez, 1997). These models have traditionally been used
in multi-period settings, where the decisions made in the
time period being analyzed have consequences over several
periods into the future. The decisions considered in the
models reviewed include decisions such as irrigation
planning, and the long term planning of crops (Duffy and
 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20
Taylor, 1993). The reader interested in specific details for
developing DP models for agricultural problems is referred to
Taylor (1993).
Additional modeling approaches in agricultural plan-
ning include the use of simulation for estimating the
growth and yield of crops (Alocilja and Ritchie, 1990),
fuzzy programming (Biswas and Pal, 2005), and search
methods to find useful solutions (Lazzari and Mazzetto,
1996). Other tools have been used in combination with
LP, SP and DP, such as time series analysis (Lien and
Hardaker, 2001), utility function elicitation (Turvey and
Baker, 1990), decision support systems (Recio et al.,
2003) and expert systems (Nevo et al., 1994).
5. Planning models for ASC of fresh products
The second part of our review covers those papers that
deal with fresh or perishable agri-foods. The complete list
of reviewed models for fresh agri-foods is presented in
Table 4. This table includes the main objectives of the
papers and their corresponding authors. Comparing Tables
11
4 and 1, we can observe that there are fewer articles dealing
with perishable agri-foods than with non-perishable ones.
However, given the increasing economic importance of per-
ishable agri-foods and the renewed interest on food safety,
we expect that the number of papers published in this area
will increase in the near future. In fact, as it can be seen in
Table 4, most of the papers that focus in perishable prod-
ucts have been published recently. In the following sec-
tions, we will dissect these works using the same criteria
presented in Section 4.
5.1. Planning scope for ASC of fresh products
Table 5 organizes the papers in terms of the planning
scope of the models presented. The models in the papers
can be classified into strategic (S), tactical (T), and opera-
tional (O) categories. Because of its implications for ASC
planning, the table also identifies whether the model pre-
sented include a shelf life feature (SL). However, as it can
be observed from Table 5 only a few papers explicitly
model the shelf life of agri-foods. The fifth column of Table

Table 4
List of models for fresh agricultural products

Model Main objective of the paper

Ferrer et al. (2008) Determine a plan for the optimal scheduling of the harvest of wine grapes using a LP model with the objective of minimizing
operational and grape quality costs
Widodo et al. (2006) Design of a DP model to integrate production, harvest and storage of perishable items with growth and loss functions for
maximizing the demand satisfied
Caixeta-Filho (2006) Development of a LP that links chemical, biological and logistics constraints to the quality of the fruit to harvest, with objective
of maximizing revenue
Kazaz (2004) Design a two-stage SP to determine the olive trees to contract in the season for an oil producer with uncertain yield and
demand, for maximizing revenue
Allen and Schuster Determine the optimal rate of harvesting and capital investment (capacity) using a nonlinear program, to reduce losses by
(2004) weather and overcapacity
Rantala (2004) Design a production-distribution model for the supply chain of a seedlings with the objective of minimizing costs
Itoh et al. (2003) Design a model for crop planning with uncertain values, described with fuzziness and randomness, with the objective of
maximizing minimum value of revenue
Caixeta-Filho et al. Develop a LP model for maximizing the expected gross revenue of a greenhouse by designing an appropriate marketing and
(2002) planting plan
Berge ten et al. (2000) Develop a whole farm model to compare between different farming technologies before empirical work starts. With economic
and environmental goals
Darby-Dowman et al. Design of a SP model for determining the optimal planting plans for a vegetable crop with the help of weather scenarios, with a
(2000) revenue maximizing objective
Romero (2000) Determine an efficient cropping pattern by considering the risk of the producers with a multi-objective (max revenue, min
variability) model
Leutscher et al. (1999) Design of a production model with tactical and operational decisions with the objective of increasing profitability
Stokes et al. (1997) Develop optimal production and marketing decisions for a nursery producing ornamental plants using SDP with revenue
maximizing objective
Aleotti et al. (1997) Develop a SP model that optimizes revenue by changing the capacity of food preservation facilities and considering the
uncertainties in crop markets
Miller et al. (1997) Determine a plan for production and harvesting of a packing plant with a LP and fuzzy programs with the objective of
minimizing costs
Hamer (1994) Determine a planting and harvesting plan for fresh crops using a LP model with the objective of maximizing profits
Purcell et al. (1993) Develop a RP decision model for landscape land production, with the objective of maximizing returns for a given level of risk
aversion
van Berlo (1993) Determine sowing, harvesting and production plans using a LP model with the objective of minimizing costs across the
logistical chain
Annevelink (1992) Determine a plan for the location of pot-plants inside a greenhouse with the objective of minimizing costs using heuristics and
genetic algorithms
Saedt et al. (1991) Develop a plan for a pot-plant greenhouse with two models, one LP for future plans and one MIP for transition plans, with the
aim of maximizing revenue
12 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20

Table 5
Planning scope and decision variables for fresh agricultural products
Model Planning scope Decision variables
S T O SL A DM P H D I SCM Other decisions considered
Ferrer et al. (2008) X X X Y/N Planner X 1 Labor and routing
Widodo et al. (2006) X X X N SC X X 2
Caixeta-Filho (2006) X Y/N Planner X 2
Kazaz (2004) X X Y/N Planner X X 1 Purchase from other source
Allen and Schuster (2004) X Y/Y Planner X X 1 Capacity planning
Rantala (2004) X X Y/N SC X X X 2 Open/close facilities
Itoh et al. (2003) X N Farmer X 1
Caixeta-Filho et al. (2002) X X Y/Y Farmer X X 1
Berge ten et al. (2000) X X Y/N Advisor X 1 Technology selection
Darby-Dowman et al. (2000) X Y/N Farmer X X 1 Capacity decisions
Romero (2000) X N Planner X 1
Leutscher et al. (1999) X X N Farmer X 1 Operational policies
Stokes et al. (1997) X Y/N Farmer X 1 Selling or retain
Aleotti et al. (1997) X X Y/N Farmer X X X 1 Preservation technology
Miller et al. (1997) X Y/N Planner X X 1
Hamer (1994) X Y/N Farmer X 1 Variety selection
Purcell et al. (1993) X Y/N Advisor X 1
van Berlo (1993) X X Y/N Farmer X X X 2 Processing schedule
Annevelink (1992) X N Farmer X 1 Spatial location
Saedt et al. (1991) X X Y/Y Farmer 1 Transition planning
S: strategic, P: production variables/decisions, T: tactical, H: harvesting variables/decisions, O: operational, D: distribution variables/decisions, A:
application of the models, I: inventory variables/decisions, DM: decision maker for which the model is designed, SCM: echelons of the supply chain.

minimize overinvestment costs of installing excess capacity.

5 provides information about the extent of the application
of these models (A). This column shows whether the papers
provide evidence that the described models were imple-
mented and used (Y/Y); just applied to a case study, but
not to a specific real life situation (Y/N); or not applied
at all (N). As it can be seen from the table, only a few
works are motivated and fully applied to a real operation.
Finally, the sixth column of the table identifies the targeted
user of the models; which we labeled as the decision maker
(DM). In the subsequent subsections we dissect the models
presented in Table 5 using the same criteria previously used
in Section 4. We also discuss some representative examples
of models for each classification criteria. In the selection of
papers to discuss we favored those that had been success-
fully applied to solve a concrete and real problem.
5.1.1. Models for strategic planning of ASC of fresh products
The strategic models for perishable agri-foods, shown in
Table 5, cover several types of decisions, such as the design
of supply networks, financial planning, capacity, and tech-
nology selection. Some of the most common objective func-
tions of these models include profit/revenue maximization
and cost minimization. Most of the models identified that
cover strategic decisions also include some aspects of tacti-
cal planning. In the examples presented next we discuss two
models, one that covers exclusively strategic level decisions
and another one that covers both strategic and tactical
aspects of planning.
Allen and Schuster (2004) developed a model for calcu-
lating the capacity and rate of harvest required for the pro-
duction of grapes. The objective of the model is to
minimize the losses in crops, caused by weather, and to
A major contribution of the paper is the use of nonlinear
programming to reduce the risk of uncertain weather.
The benefits reported from the use of this model include
$2 million in capital avoidance from harvesting equipment
and improved risk assessment for the incorporation of new
crop areas.
Berge ten et al. (2000) developed a model for a farm to
compare the potential performance of alternative farming
technologies. The objective of the model is to select those
technologies that give the best tradeoff between economic
and environmental goals. The authors present a case study
of the methodology using a problem that is modeled as a
multiple-goal linear program for planning the optimal crop
rotation for flower bulb farming. The objective function of
the model is to maximize farm gross margin, and to mini-
mize the use of pesticides and fertilizers. The strategic deci-
sions included the selection of growing technology and the
tactical decisions included the selection of crop rotations.
5.1.2. Models for tactical planning of ASC of fresh products
Tactical planning models are the most popular applica-
tions for fresh ASC (Table 5). Some of the decisions pre-
sented in these models include crop scheduling, harvest
planning, crop selection, and labor capacity. We now pres-
ent two tactical planning models that have been imple-
mented, and have provided significant benefits to the
farmers, attesting of the potential benefits of these types
of models in ASC.
The first example is the work of Caixeta-Filho et al.
(2002). These authors use an LP model for planning the
production of flowers in a Brazilian greenhouse. The main
 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20
decision variable is the number of flowers to produce in
each specific greenhouse at a particular time period. The
model includes decisions for planting and harvesting in sev-
eral periods of the year. Some of the constraints of the
model include the amount to harvest and plant for each
period. The objective of the model is to satisfy the demand
of customers while maximizing revenue. The LP model is
embedded in the planning software of the greenhouse com-
pany, thus giving the decision makers and supervisors the
tools for planning the operations of the company. The
reported benefits of using this model are additional sales
and profits, with a 32% increase in the farmers profit
margin.
Another application of tactical planning to greenhouse
production is provided by Saedt et al. (1991), who develop
a production planning model for a pot-plant greenhouse.
The model handles two types of plans, one for future pro-
duction and a transition plan to move from current state of
the greenhouse to one that meets the future production
needs. The future and transition production plan is deter-
mined with the help of an LP model. The decisions
included in the model are production scheduling, determi-
nation of labor and space needs. The benefits obtained
from the implementation of this model include increasing
the net profits by about 10%.
5.1.3. Models for operational planning in ASC of fresh
products
In this section, we present the papers for fresh ASC that
focus on short-term or operational planning. Among the
operational decisions considered in these models are har-
vesting, scheduling of production activities, intermediate
storage and packing planning. Comparing the number of
operational models for perishable products shown in Table
5 with those for non-perishable commodities shown in
Table 2, we can observe that there is a greater emphasis
on short-term planning in the production of perishable
products. The differences between the models for fresh
and non-perishable crops support the idea that the opera-
tional decisions in the management of highly perishable
products are extremely important. The particular charac-
teristics of operational models for the fresh ASC are illus-
trated next through the description of some of the papers
presented in Table 5.
Miller et al. (1997) develop two models for harvesting
and packing fresh tomatoes, one using an LP formulation
and a second one using a program obtained by adding
fuzzy type constraints to the model. Some of the decisions
included in the model are the quantity to harvest per period
and the inventory to keep for the next period. The objective
is to minimize the cost of operation in the harvesting and
packing operations.
A second example of operational planning dealing with
production scheduling in a pot-plant greenhouse is given
by the work of Annevelink (1992). This model takes the
information of a tactical crop mix plan, and develops an
operational plan for the spatial allocation of pots in each
13
production period. The objective of the model is to mini-
mize costs and to increase the utilization of a greenhouse.
The model is solved in an iterative way by solving tactical
and operational models, with the help of heuristics such as
clustering heuristics and genetic algorithms that provide
good working solutions.
5.2. Planning decisions for ASC of fresh products
In the second part of Table 5, we present the different
decisions variables of the models reviewed. These include
production (P), harvesting (H), distribution (D), and stor-
age (I). When comparing Tables 2 and 5, it is evident that
the papers reviewed are clustered around production and
harvesting decisions with distribution and storage falling
behind. It is also evident from the table that few models
combine these decisions, to develop production-distribu-
tion or harvesting-distribution models. Comparing Tables
2 and 5, we notice that Table 5 contains a higher number of
papers dealing with harvesting decisions. This may be the
result of the short shelf life of the products and the lack
of mechanized equipment for harvesting these crops. Other
decisions in the models include labor planning, capacity
planning, spatial location, technology selection, purchase
decisions, and processing schedule.
5.2.1. Production models for fresh products
Production decisions are the most popular in the models
presented in Table 5. Models dealing with production plan-
ning for greenhouses are particularly prolific. Production
decisions include determining the amount, mix and timing
for planting each crop, and the scheduling of resources
such as labor and transportation. Some of the common
objectives of these models include the minimization of costs
and maximization of profits subject to demand constraints.
Kazaz (2004) presents an SP model for a Turkish com-
pany producing olive oil. The company has the option of
leasing the olive trees to grow the olives or to buy the olives
in the open market at a higher price. The planning model
consists of two-stages, where the decisions at each stage
depend on the stochastic distribution of demand and the
uncertain yield of the olive trees. In the first-stage the com-
pany determines the amount of trees to lease, and in the
second-stage, based on the yield and the prices of olives
in the open market, the company determines the amount
of olive oil to produce and olives to buy from the farmers.
The objective of the model is to maximize the expected
profit subject to demand and the sales price of the olive oil.
van Berlo (1993) presents a model to plan and coordinate
the production and supply of raw materials from the field to
a processing plant. The targeted operation is a vertically
integrated vegetable processing industry. The coordination
is performed with the use of a linear goal programming
model that satisfies several competing objectives that
include the minimization of the cost of sowing, optimization
of the utilization of the processing plant, and meeting
the markets demand. This model considers not only the
14 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20
planning of activities at the farm level but also the supply of
these agri-foods to a processing plant down the supply
chain and the planning of production at the plant. The
motivation of the model is to coordinate the production
and harvest activities to meet markets demand in terms of
quantity and quality.
5.2.2. Production-distribution models for fresh products
The number of models designed for supporting produc-
tion-distribution decisions is still small compared to the
total number of papers reviewed. We found only two exam-
ples supporting production-distribution decisions, none of
which had been fully implemented. We believe that this
lack of production-distribution applications will change
as the industry materializes the potential benefits of includ-
ing the shelf life of the products in this type of models and
the other benefits that have been reported in other seg-
ments of the industry when using production-distribution
planning (see Section 4.2.2).
Rantala (2004) presents an MIP model for designing the
integrated production-distribution plans for the seedling
supply chain of a finnish nursery company. Some of the
decisions included in the model are the total number of
seedlings to be produced and transported from nurseries to
cooled warehouses, or transported directly to customers, or
transported from warehouses to customers. The model also
includes capacity constraints and capacity-related
decisions. The main objective of the model is to minimize
the total cost of producing and transporting the products
needed to meet customers demand.
Aleotti et al. (1997) provides a second example of pro-
duction-distribution models. He describes an MIP formu-
lation for selecting the best design for the post-harvest
handling of fresh vegetable crops between the harvest
and the final market. The purpose of Aleottis research is
to maximize the benefits from capital investment in food-
preservation facilities under conditions of uncertain pro-
duction and demand. The uncertainty in the environment
is modeled as an SP problem using a set of market and crop
scenarios. The objective of the model is the maximization
of the expected profit through the selection of the best com-
bination of post-harvest processes.
5.2.3. Harvesting models for fresh products
The most common activities of the harvesting models
reviewed included decisions related to the amount of prod-
uct to harvest per period, how to transport the harvested
product, how to allocate transportation equipment, and
the scheduling activities of packing and processing plants.
The work by Ferrer et al. (2008) can be considered a
good representative of the papers dealing with harvesting
planning. This paper presents an MIP model for optimally
scheduling the harvesting operations of wine grapes. The
model considers the costs of harvesting activities and the
loss of quality of the grapes for delaying harvesting. The
decisions in this model include the amount of grapes to
harvest from the different plots in each period, the routing
of harvesting among plots and the number of workers to
hire or lay off for each period of the harvesting season.
One of the main contributions of this model is the represen-
tation of the quality loss in the objective function of the
model.
A second paper dealing with a harvesting model (Caixe-
ta-Filho, 2006) uses an LP formulation to link the pertinent
chemical, biological and logistical restrictions to the quality of
the fruit to be harvested. The model considers two
potential objective functions, one that maximizes the num-
ber of boxes of fruit produced and another that maximizes
total revenue. The second objective was considered a better
objective for the case of an orange juice producer that
schedules the harvest of several independent farmers. The
decision variables of the model are the monthly amount of
crop to harvest from a grove.
5.3. Modeling approaches in ASC for fresh products
The main modeling approaches used in the papers listed
in Table 6 are LP, MIP, SP, DP and SDP. Other
approaches used include growth simulation, nonlinear
optimization, fuzzy programming, risk programming, goal
programming and multi-objective programming. As it was
the case in non-perishable agri-foods, the most popular
modeling approach for fresh agri-foods, and the one with
the most successful applications, is LP. We now describe
some examples of the papers aimed at the planning of fresh
agri-foods activities.
Hamer (1994) uses an LP model to determine the best
planting and scheduling decisions to assure a steady supply
of Brussels sprouts over a long planning horizon. The
author assumes the demand and quality of the product is
known in advance and that there exists a way to estimate
the distribution of the yield for different crops. The main
objective of the model is to satisfy the market demand
and to maximize profit, subject to factors such as schedul-
ing of transplanting, direct drilling, grading, packaging,
seeding, land preparation, growing, and harvesting.
An extension of Hamers model is presented by Darby-
Dowman et al. (2000). The model uses the results of
Hamers model as an input for an SP model. The main con-
tribution of this paper is the introduction of stochastic
behavior and a utility function to minimize the risk
incurred by the grower, resulting in a robust production
plan. The decision variables for the model are the amount
of land allocated to each crop, the timing of the sowing, the
amount of product to harvest, sell and purchase to satisfy
the demand of the customers. The yield of the products is
assumed uncertain, due to the weather variability. The
weather-yield relationship is formulated using 31 weather
scenarios. The results from the experiment indicate that
using a stochastic model rendered more robust plans than
just using deterministic models.
Widodo et al. (2006) present a different approach for
integrating the production, harvesting and inventory plan-
ning of flowers through the use of growth and loss func-
 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20 15

Table 6
Modeling approaches used for planning fresh agricultural products
Model LP SP DP SDP MIP Other aspects
Ferrer et al. (2008) X X Relaxation heuristic
Widodo et al. (2006) X Growth and loss functions
Caixeta-Filho (2006) X
Kazaz (2004) X Nonlinear optimization
Allen and Schuster (2004) Nonlinear optimization
Rantala (2004) X X
Itoh et al. (2003) X Fuzzy programming
Caixeta-Filho et al. (2002) X
Berge ten et al. (2000) X Multi-objective programming
Darby-Dowman et al. (2000) X
Romero (2000) X Risk programming
Leutscher et al. (1999) X Simulation and regression
Stokes et al. (1997) X
Aleotti et al. (1997) X X
Miller et al. (1997) X Fuzzy programming
Hamer (1994) X Decision support system
Purcell et al. (1993) X Risk programming
van Berlo (1993) X Goal programming
Annevelink (1992) X Genetic algorithm
Saedt et al. (1991) X

Table 7
Other agricultural supply chains planning models
Model Main objective of the paper
Schepers and van Kooten Plan the value chain of fresh fruits (producer, trader and retailer) using systems dynamics with the objective of maximizing
(2006) total revenue
Higgins and Laredo (2006) Develop an IP model for harvesting and transporting crops, together with the rationalization of railroads with the objective
of minimizing total cost
Higgins et al. (2004) Develop a framework for integrating harvesting and transportation decisions in the Australian sugar value chain to
minimize costs
Higgins (1999) Schedule harvest date and crop cycle, considering transportation and capacity restrictions using an IP model that maximizes
the net revenue
Tijskens and Polderdijk Develop a model for estimating the quality of harvested products affected by temperature, chilling injury, and different levels
(1996) of initial quality
Porteus (1993b) Plan the use of new technologies, demand management, and sensitivity analysis to improve the performance of a cranberry
packing plant
Porteus (1993a) Develop a tactical plan for capacity and staffing decisions for improving the efficiency of a cranberry packing plant using
queuing models

tions. They use a DP model to deal with periodical harvests
subject to periodical flowering for maximizing the level of
demand coverage per period. The objective is the minimiza-
tion of the loss caused by premature harvesting, and the
loss from transporting and storing products at the retailers
site. The main decision variable is the amount of product to
be harvested at each harvesting period.
Stokes et al. (1997) presents an SDP model for manag-
ing a nursery, with two interesting features, the consider-
ation of after-tax profits and the uncertainty of profit.
The problem is to arrive to an optimal marketing and pro-
duction plan for a nursery that produces ornamental
plants. The nursery considered, produces different sizes of
crops. The crops increase their value with growth, but this
growth also results in higher operating costs. The states of
the model are the production area dedicated to each type of
crop, a possible carry-over loss, and the net income
obtained. The decisions include the determination of the
size and the timing of the crops to sell. The risks faced
by the producers include cost, and yield uncertainty. These
risks are assumed to be reflected in the stochastic behavior of
the prices obtained.
6. Other related models
As part of the literature review, we found other papers
that although related to agricultural planning, do not
directly fit the classification scheme used in this paper.
Table 7 presents a list of these papers with the intention of
informing the interested reader of additional contribu-
tions in the planning of ASC.
7. Conclusions
Different conclusions can be drawn from the previous
review. One is that the use of integrated planning models
16 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20
in the ASC is still very limited. While we believe that these
models would be useful in the modeling of all the agri-food
products, they would be particularly useful for perishable
crops. Although integrated models are inherently more
complex, than those dealing with a single planning aspects,
the potential benefits of these models usually outweigh the
added complexity. This is particularly true in planning the
coordination of production and distribution activities for
large and medium size companies (Boehlje, 1999). The need
for integrated models is reinforced by Perosio et al. (2001)
who recognize the increasing importance of grower/ship-
pers who are in charge of not only producing the crops
but also of their distribution. The importance of these
growers in the ASC is expected to expand as more retailers
and processors continue to buy directly from producers,
bypassing the traditional wholesalers and intermediaries
(Kaufman et al., 2000). For these growers the use of inte-
grated models to better plan their activities might represent
substantial savings and increased efficiencies.
A second finding that can be drawn from the reviewed
papers is that planning models dealing with perishable
products very often fail to incorporate realistic stochastic,
and shelf life features present in the different echelons of
the supply chain. Perhaps the reason for this lack of more
realistic scenarios is the added complexity of finding solu-
tions for the resulting models. In the few cases that real-
ity-based stochastic features were introduced into the
models the results justified the added complexity of the
model (Jones et al., 2003; Allen and Schuster, 2004). Most
troubling is the lack of shelf life features in the majority of
the models developed for planning perishables agri-foods,
since these features are essential for maintaining the quality
and freshness of perishable products.
We also found that there are a limited number of models
dealing with operational planning. This paucity of applica-
tions is evident in the case of integrated models that aim at
planning more than one aspect of the ASC. Given the thin
profit margins observed by the producers, efficient opera-
tional planning could make the difference between a suc-
cessful and an unprofitable operation. The relevance of
operational models is even more accentuated in the case
of perishable crops because of the critical impact of their
limited shelf life on harvesting and transportation
decisions.
Finally, judging by the numbers of published papers, we
concluded that the focus of agricultural planning has been
mostly on non-perishable products. However, we also
detected a change in this trend since most of the papers
aimed at perishable products have been developed in the
last six years. Perhaps the lack of research on perishable
products was due to the perceived less importance of these
crops over the traditional or program crops such wheat,
corn and cotton. However, there is a new reality since the
current markets for fresh products are very dynamic and
even evolving faster than traditional crops (Huang and
Sophia, 2004). The ever increasing demand of consumers
for healthy products and the more stringent regulations
in the handling of fresh products will undoubtedly create
the need for improving the current supply chain planning
practices. Judging from the publication trends, we believe
that this need is already being reflected in the papers
reviewed and we expect that the research activity in the
area will increase significantly in the near future.
8. Identification of gaps in the literature and call for research
In closing, we would like to give an assessment of the
gaps in the existing literature on planning models of the
ASC. In order to identify these gaps we take two different
approaches. The first approach is to compare and contrast
the existing research and research trends in planning mod-
els for ASC to those related planning activities within the
manufacturing supply chains, a sector considerably more
research-mature than that of ASC. The second approach
is to assess the future needs of the industry based on pro-
jecting the current trends of the industry into the future.
Regarding the first approach, we believe that the state of
the art in models for planning ASC are still lagging behind
the research aimed at some manufacturing supply chains,
such as electronics and automotive manufacturing.
Researchers in manufacturing supply chains are currently
developing models for designing supply chain networks
for local and international markets (Goetschalckx et al.,
2002; Meixell and Gargeya, 2005), coordinating the activi-
ties of companies in the supply chain (Sarmiento and Nagi,
1999; Thomas and Griffin, 1996), planning transportation
operations and developing information management sys-
tems (Stadler and Kilger, 2005; Helo and Szekely, 2005).
Of particular relevance is the research on supply chain
coordination, which identifies the activities and polices to
be pursued by the different supply chain participants to
obtain the maximum benefit of the entire supply chain
(Kouvelis et al., 2006; Chen and Paulraj, 2004). Evidence
of these coordination-needs in ASC, is the development
of programs such as efficient consumer response and other
supply chain coordination initiatives that have been cham-
pioned by retailers. Among the preferred tools for supply
chain coordination, has been the use of contracts, which
includes policies for buying, selling, delivering, and pricing
of products. Similar contracting arrangements have also
been gaining popularity in ASC, but still there is a need
to research their design and effects for the particular char-
acteristics of the agricultural markets (MacDonald et al.,
2004). Other areas of expertise in manufacturing supply
chains are internal logistics, which include the activities
within a single firm that are necessary for the efficient flow
of services and goods (CLM, 2006). An evident gap is the
lack of models applied to the distribution of perishable
products, such as those developed in the inventory litera-
ture (Goyal and Giri, 2001).
Regarding the identification of future needs based on
industry trends, we can mention the industry consolidation
and the vertical integration of the supply chains. The con-
solidation of the agri-food industry has evolved from the
 O. Ahumada, J.R. Villalobos / European Journal of Operational Research 195 (2009) 1-20
need for economies of scale, strategic positioning, risk man-
agement and market control (Boehlje, 1999). On the other
hand, vertical integration has been motivated by a host of
technological, regulatory and financial reasons, in addition
to changes in consumer preferences, such as increased
quality and product safety (Hobbs and Young, 2000). These
trends have motivated new initiatives in ASC, such as
traceability, quality certifications, food safety, and quick
response just to name a few of the latest developments in
the industry (Bourlakis and Weightman, 2004). Some of
these trends and efforts sometimes are lumped together
under the term Agroindustrialization of Operations. This
indicates that there are now more similarities between
manufacturing supply chains and ASC than ever before
(Reardon and Barret, 2000). In response to these challenges
some potential innovations can be identified. For instance,
we believe that there is a need for models that include more
realistic features, such as uncertain information, logistics
integration, risk modeling, regulatory environment, quality
and security of products. In particular, we have identified
the need for stochastic models for the tactical planning of
perishable and non-perishable agri-foods. Stochastic mod-
els can be used to plan the production of crops, and to make
these plans robust to uncertainty. We envision the extension
of these models to incorporate other risk reduction alterna-
tives, such as the use of contracts, financial and real options
as diversification strategies. Such models can aid the grow-
ers to make more holistic decisions, in terms of risk and
expected revenues. Although some of these risk reduction
issues have been modeled in the past, they have not consid-
ered market, production, distribution and the uncertainty
of the models parameters.
Other potential contributions include operational mod-
els which integrate production and distribution decisions.
The need for such logistical models has promoted the emer-
gence of the field of Agribusiness Logistics, which studies
the impact of logistical issues in ASC (Biere, 2001). The
importance of Agricultural Logistics issues is particularly
evident in the case of perishable products where the limited
shelf life of the product requires a very careful planning of
the transportation and inventory decisions to reduce the
deterioration of the products and preserve their value. In
our opinion, there is a particularly a conspicuous lack of
adequate models for planning operational decisions for
production/harvest and distribution for perishable crops.
The development of these models is an immediate need
not only for the benefit of industry but also for the benefit
of the final consumer.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the anonymous
reviewers of this paper whose input significantly improved
its quality. We also would like to acknowledge the Confed-
eration of Associations of Growers in the State of Sinaloa
(CAADES) and Mexicos National Council for Science
17
and Technology (CONACYT) for their support for the
realization of this research.
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